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Friday, September 23, 2011

Flashback Friday: "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen

Today is Bruce Springsteen's 62nd birthday. I don't think I did a post for his 60th birthday in 2009, so I'm doing it now. I can't believe that he was born the same year as my dad. The reason it is hard to believe, I guess, is because when Springsteen hit it big in 1984 with his Born in the USA album, it was the first I had ever heard of him and he looked young and pretty fit. I did not pay attention to people's ages back then. If they were adults, then it did not matter if they were 25 or 50. They were "old"!! It has only been since I lived through each decade where I started paying attention to age, especially since I'm approaching 40 and wondering if I'll ever find a lady to marry. When my dad turned 40, I was in the 11th grade!!! I'm so behind the times.

Pictured above is Bruce Springsteen in his 30s when he was a bandanna'd muscleman and rockin' stadiums all over the country in 1985. He was my favourite male singer at the time (Huey Lewis and the News was my favourite band and Tina Turner was my favourite female singer in 1985). The Born in the USA album was an instant classic and certainly one of the best I had heard at the time (it still ranks in my Top Ten Favourite Albums of All Time). I remember idolizing him at the time and wanting to be like him when I grew up. An episode of Growing Pains rang true with me, as well. It was the episode when Mike Seaver (played by Kirk Cameron, who is a full time Evangelical Christian now, hawking his faith like a telemarketer) and his father went to a Springsteen concert and his father had embarrassed him on camera (when a local news crew had interviewed them for their "News at 11" segment). Springsteen was one of the few groups from the 80s that my dad and I both liked (my dad was not into most 80s pop like I was, though my mom shared similar interests as me in regards to music).

We would play that album in the car on road trips and I remember my dad saying that no matter how many albums Springsteen makes in the future, he would never create a masterpiece like Born in the USA. Subsequent albums did prove disappointing. I blame his marriage to some actress (I forget her name now) for mellowing him out with 1987's Tunnel of Love. He released two albums in 1992: Human Touch and Lucky Town. I only bought Human Touch, which had some good songs on it but did not come close to the brilliance of Born in the USA. He released a few acoustic and folk albums, which I'm not a fan of. Basically, if the E Street Band wasn't included, I was not interested. Though I don't remember hearing "Born to Run" in the 1970s (I did not pay attention to music until songs from Grease and Saturday Night Fever played all over the radio), I fell in love with that song in the 1980s. In the 1990s, I made that song my "invocation" every time I went on a road trip. No road trip was complete if that song did not play! It is simply the greatest road trip song of all time! As the years rolled by, I began to think that it was probably true. There was no way that The Boss would ever match the brilliance of his biggest selling album, which helped defined an era (it was the perfect Reagan era album, though the title song was not the jingoistic patriotic anthem that many thought it was). There was no way, until...

The Rising. This was released in 2002 and considered "the 9/11 Album." I consider this to be the complete equal to Born in the USA. Not only were all the songs catchy in their melodies, but the lyrics were quite profound and the album is one that has to be listened to in its entirety. By some brilliant creative genius, Springsteen managed to capture the complex feelings surrounding the events of 9/11. Love and loss. Fear of foreigners. Reaching out to people. Trying to understand. Grieving. Finding love. Having faith. Maintaining hope. It is quite simply, an amazing album and perhaps in many ways, better than Born in the USA, though that 80s classic is iconic now so it will always rank high, in my opinion.

The strange thing about this album for me is that it was released when I went on my road trip to Boston and New York City with a good friend of mine from church. I had read an article in either Newsweek or Time about it and was excited to buy it when I returned from my trip. Yet, everytime I listen to it, my memories of that road trip are attached. I can't separate the images I saw on that road trip with the songs, even though I did not hear the album until after I had returned home. On that road trip, I listened to other music, but I can't remember what. Funny how memory can play tricks on you regarding the timeline.

The first song is "Lonesome Day" which is simply a great song. I believe it was released as a single. It really spoke to me, about learning to live through lonesome days, which every human has probably experienced at one time or another. The song "Into the Fire" seems inspired by the firefighters who went into the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the plane crashes. However, the song alludes to something more, too. Its a beautiful song with an awesome chorus ("May your strength give us strength, may your faith give us faith, may your hope give us hope, may your love bring us love...").

"Waiting on a Sunny Day" is a perfect song for Portland. This song also has a great melody. "Nothing Man" is another song that seems to allude to 9/11, though its hard to tell the meaning of what he's saying. It sounds like someone who was a big shot in high school whose life didn't amount to much, so he spends his nights in the local bar with the same crowd, even after his name appears in the local paper. "Countin' On a Miracle" is not about religion, but about finding a love that's not like the one fairy tales present. "Empty Sky" is another song that seems inspired by 9/11. Some lyrics include: "Blood on the streets / blood flowin' down / I hear the blood of my blood / cryin' from the ground..."

I really love the song "Worlds Apart." He uses some Middle Eastern rhythms in this song, giving it a trace of foreign sounds. Kind of reminiscent of Sting's "Desert Rose." In this song, Springsteen even makes a reference to Allah ("'Neath Allah's blessed rain, we remain worlds apart"). My favourite song on this album, though, is "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)." It has what Arsenio Hall would call "a nasty funk that makes you want to get down with your lady." The melody, lyrics and message is absolutely brilliant. "Further On (Up the Road)" and "The Fuse" seem to allude to the state of America in the aftermath of 9/11. Fear. Acting out. Not knowing who to trust.

"Mary's Place" is another favourite among favourites. This song hits the right note from the start, referencing Buddha. I'd love to meet at Mary's Place and have a party! "You're Missing" is about losing a loved one and not knowing where they are, and trying to deal with life when all you think about is the missing loved one. Definite 9/11 reference. "The Rising" is a song that Obama had used during his campaign. I don't know if it was his official campaign song, but he did play it at several rallies that I attended. It's appropriate, at least at the time when we supporters thought he would change the ways of Washington, before he lost his way. This song is full of promise, of a rebirth, of hope for a better future. Great song! The song "Paradise" is about living through the routines and hoping for a better place, a paradise.

The final song is "My City of Ruins", which Springsteen had performed during the special telecast in the aftermath of 9/11, when Hollywood celebrities manned the phones to talk to donors, and various people sang. The song was perfect for what happened in New York City on that beautiful September morning that turned into a nightmare. I learned later that he had written that song about his hometown, seeing it decimated as many small towns across America due to the lack of jobs and the move to cities and suburbs where the jobs are. Despite his original genesis for this song, the lyrics fit the events of 9/11, so it appears almost prophetic. The song is close to being a hymn.

This album is simply brilliant and a classic. When I rated the Ten Best Albums of the 2000s Decade in a blog post in December 2009, I rated this album at #2, just behind U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind. Each year on 9/11, I have to listen to it for sure, even though I still associate it with my road trip in 2002 (I did see Ground Zero on that trip). I don't own most albums that Springsteen put out, because his music ranges quite a bit and I'm not a fan of the mellow, Dylanesque folk music (such as his Ghost of Tom Joad album). I have bought his Magic and Working On a Dream albums. They are both good, but still don't reach the absolute brilliance of The Rising or Born in the USA. If you want only the best of Bruce Springsteen, I would get the following albums: Born to Run, Born in the USA, The Rising, Human Touch, Greatest Hits (because it features the song "Murder Incorporated" which he had played in concerts but never recorded on an album until one overzealous fan apparently attended concert after concert, and demanded that Springsteen record it), The Essential Bruce Springsteen (a three-CD set that includes some rare tracks, including one about the shooting of Amadou Diallo: "American Skin (41 Shots)"), Magic, and Working On a Dream.

The above is the album cover of his iconic Born in the USA. Even the cover photo design is classic. When I first saw it, I thought it was weird. Who wants to look at his butt? Apparently, quite a few ladies don't seem to mind. It is amazing how an image can be forever associated with an album. In some future "Fun Friday" post, I should do a Top Ten list of the Best Album Covers of All Time or something like that. Not sure this one would make the cut, though. However, it is memorable. If you walked into a record store and saw it at a distance, you would know exactly what album it was. When I was a teenager and dreaming about being a rock star (yeah, I actually had those dreams!), I planned to have an album titled: Made in Taiwan and the tour would have a journey theme to it. What an idea. The concept behind the song and album Made in Taiwan would be that not everything that came from Taiwan was cheap, plastic junk, because I was actually "made" in Taiwan (my dad was stationed there with the U.S. Air Force and I was born there and missed being born in Florida by a few months). Its probably a good thing that I can't sing!

Sansego

A word I created from the French word Sans (meaning "without") and the English word ego. Basically, that sums up my spiritual beliefs. To be closer to God, we must transcend our egos and recognize we are all "one in the spirit."

My 7 Favourite Films of 2007

Gorgeous!

My Hot List (of Dream Women)

1. Audrey Tautou

2. Emily Blunt

3. Frances O'Connor

4. Thandie Newton

5. Natalie Portman

6. Shannyn Sossamon

7. Michelle Yeoh

8. Gwen Stefani

9. Zoe Saldana

10. Halle Berry

Nonconformists of the Year

The following photos represent my selection for Nonconformist of the Year, that I started doing in 1992 to honour the person who did an unexpected act, which went against the grain of conventional thinking.

1992

Bill Clinton

1993

Al Gore

1994

Nelson Mandela

1995

Lady Diana Spencer

1996

John F. Kennedy, Jr.

1997

Louis Freeh

1998

Russ Feingold

1999

Jesse Ventura

2000

John McCain

2001

Bill Maher

2002

Dave Eggers

2003

Howard Dean

2004

Joseph Darby

2005

Cindy Sheehan

2006

Al Gore

2007

Buddhist Monks of Burma

2008

Barack Obama

2009

Alicia Silverstone

2010

Julian Assange

2011

Mohamed Bouazizi

Best descriptions of GWB

1. He's a corporation masquerading as a human being -- Ralph Nader

2. He's a blind man in a room full of deaf people -- Paul O'Neill

3. Poor George...born on third and thought he hit a triple -- Ann Richards

4. You could easily imagine him owning the local car dealership down the road -- Barack Obama

5. Bush is the worst president ever...He is the worst president in American history -- Helen Thomas

Favourite Presidents

1. Thomas Jefferson

2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

3. Abraham Lincoln

4. George Washington

5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Worst Presidents Ever

1. George W. Bush

2. Richard M. Nixon

3. Lyndon B. Johnson

4. Ronald W. Reagan

5. Warren G. Harding

Cool words I love

Kundalini

Shosoloza

Zenani

Serendipity

Psychokinesis

Recommended CDs by my favourite Irish musicians

1. All That You Can't Leave Behind -- U2

2. A Day Without Rain -- Enya

3. The Bells of Dublin -- The Chieftains

4. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got -- Sinead O'Connor

5. Herding Cats -- Gaelic Storm

My All Time Favourite Music Videos

1. Nothing Compares 2 U -- Sinead O'Connor

2. Coldhearted -- Paula Abdul

3. Smoke -- Natalie Imbruglia

4. Stay -- Lisa Loeb

5. Soak Up The Sun -- Sheryl Crow

All Time Favourite Films

1. The Sound of Music

2. The Star Wars Saga

3. Dead Poet's Society

4. Casualties of War

5. Love and Other Catastrophes

6. E.T.

7. Forrest Gump

8. Jurassic Park

9. Sarafina!

10. Roxanne

All Time Favourite Albums

1. Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World -- Johnny Clegg and Savuka

2. Earth and Sun and Moon -- Midnight Oil

3. All That You Can't Leave Behind -- U2

4. Le Baiser -- Indochine

5. Wommat (The Guide) -- Youssou N'Dour

6. Born in the USA -- Bruce Springsteen

7. Tracy Chapman -- Tracy Chapman

8. Graceland -- Paul Simon

9. The Rising -- Bruce Springsteen

10. Autoamerican -- Blondie

11. Pilgrim -- Eric Clapton

12. Thriller -- Michael Jackson

13. Crazy Sexy Cool -- TLC

14. True Blue -- Madonna

15. Whitney -- Whitney Houston

All Time Favourite Songs

1. What A Wonderful World -- Louis Armstrong

2. Sailing -- Christopher Cross

3. A Better Man -- Keb' Mo'

4. Woman Be My Country -- Johnny Clegg and Savuka

5. Time After Time -- Cyndi Lauper

6. Woman -- John Lennon

7. Man In the Mirror -- Michael Jackson

8. Hey Jude -- The Beatles

9. Imagine -- John Lennon

10. Stairway to Heaven -- Led Zepplin

My 6 Fave Songs of 2006

1. Do I Make You Proud? -- Taylor Hicks

2. Unwritten -- Natasha Bedingfield

3. Jump -- Madonna

4. Waiting on the World to Change -- John Mayer

5. Bad Day -- Daniel Powter

6. What's Left of Me -- Nick Lachey

My 6 Fave Films of 2006

1. An Inconvenient Truth

2. The Da Vinci Code

3. Blood Diamond

4. V For Vendetta

5. The Devil Wears Prada

6. Casino Royale

Three Worst Films of 2006

1. Borat

2. Basic Instinct 2

3. Children of Men

Favourite Madonna Singles

1. Live to Tell

2. Vogue

3. What it Feels Like For a Girl

4. Jump

5. Who's that Girl

6. Into the Groove

7. Angel

8. This Used to Be My Playground

9. Holiday

10. Die Another Day

Favourite Madonna Albums

1. True Blue (1986)

2. Like a Prayer (1989)

3. Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)

4. American Life (2003)

5. Bedtime Stories (1994)

6. Madonna (1983)

7. Music (2001)

8. Ray of Light (1998)

9. Like A Virgin (1984)

10. Erotica (1992)

Favourite Madonna Music Videos

1. Vogue

2. Material Girl

3. Into the Groove

4. Papa Don't Preach

5. La Isla Bonita

6. Human Nature

7. Take A Bow

8. Nothing Really Matters

9. Rain

10. Beautiful Stranger

Personal Timeline

Dec 1971 -- Born;1977 -- "Star Wars" craze begins!;1978 -- Wendy is my first crush, setting a pattern of me falling for girls I find more intelligent than myself;1980 -- Sharon Dunn becomes my first penpal when I move to Utah;Dec 1980 -- Baptized into RLDS Church;1984 -- Meet Nicholas Smith in 7th grade, who becomes one of my best friends;1985-1988 -- Lived in Germany;1988 -- Acted in two plays, "Our Town" and "You Can't Take It With You.";Summer 1989 -- Wrote "Diabolic Incognito" for a Young Novelist competition;November 1989 -- Inspired with story idea for next novel;June 1990 -- Graduated high school, then enlisted in the Navy;January 1991 -- First solo trip via Greyhound to visit my best friend in Omaha and my grandparents in Kansas;March 1991 -- Went off to Basic Training;September 1991 -- Arrived in Italy for my 3 year assignment;October 1992 -- My first Eurail trip;April 1993 -- An odd coincidence brings me back to God;August 1994 -- My trip to South Africa becomes my most significant spiritual experience;November 1994 -- Meet my other best friend, Nathan Hagman;January 1996 -- Honorable Discharge from the Navy;May 1996 -- Car is totalled in an accident;August 1997 -- Start my college career at BYU;April-May 1999 -- Road trip to Pacific Northwest makes a huge impression on me that this is where I want to settle someday;January-April 2000 -- Internship with Vice President Gore;December 2004 -- Finished writing second novel "Seasons of Silent War" (still haven't found an agent for it);August 2006 -- Move to Portland, Oregon--finally!!;December 2006 -- Finished my long-delayed Bachelor's Degree in International Politics